A few days ago I was driving around and spotted this mint Topaz with a spoiler. That got my attention. Upon closer inspection it proved to be an XR5 Topaz.
Personally, I did not even know that Mercury built an XR5 edition of the Topaz, though I should have speculated that it was done. In fact ’87 was the first year for it. The owner of this one was outside and we chatted about his car. He bought it new and custom ordered it. Not surprisingly, the XR5 package included a five speed transmission.
The whole car is like new, he keeps it under a cover normally and that’s why I never noticed it before. The seat covers are on to protect the mint original seats. And check out those factory XR5 wheels.
Under the hood resides an HO version of Ford’s HSC 2.3 four banger, which sported all of ninety-four horses and one thirty five lbs of torque. Even though that ain’t much, I bet it feels fairly peppy mated to the five speed.
The owner seemed pretty proud of her; he had the hood up to let it cool off before putting it back under the cover. Though I can’t say a Mercury Topaz would have been my choice for a sporty coupe back in ’87, I wish him and it the best of motoring for many years to come.
The HO version made a whopping 1hp more than the regular version. It is noted by it’s aluminum valve cover touting it’s high performance instead of the plastic ones used on the non HO version. You didn’t have to order the sporty version to get it you just had to order the 5sp or AWD/4wd with your auto to get it. You could get the AT in your XR5 if you wanted. For what ever reason the HO version uses a colder spark plug than the regular and that is the only difference I’ve been able to determine. The wife had a couple Tempazes over the years including the one sitting out beside the garage right now that is a true Tempaz a Tempo body sporting a Topaz grille and taillights.
This is certainly a nicely preserved example of probably the most rare version of the Tempaz.
The Encyclopedia of American cars says that the regular version made 86 hp, and the HO 94 hp. That’s how I remember it too, that the HO version made something less than 10 hp more than the regular. HP numbers on these engines changed almost yearly.
It does depend on the year, I forgot that in 87 the standard models still had CFI while the HO version got port FI. In 88 the standard got port FI and depending on sources it bumped up to 98 or 100 HP while the HO was rated at 100 or 101 HP.
A rare bird for sure! Not a bad looking ride, it’s a V6 swap away from being just right.
Naah, an Ecoboost swap would be more apropriate for this car than a V6, methinks.
I like the way you think!
How about, leave this remarkably well-preserved and near-unique example alone, and chop and hack some mundane beater example instead?
Definitely. Let’s say the 2 liter from the Focus ST with 252 hp and a 6-speed. With the right tires and rims the perfect hoonmobile. Even the 1.6 liter from the ’13 Fusion would be a hoot in this car.
My parents had an ’84 Topaz, and my impression from driving it was that its only real problem was it was slow, as in dangerously slow, as in you couldn’t come off of a freeway entrance ramp and get up to highway speed before the ramp ended slow.
Hey, here’s a crazy idea–leave the 2.0, 252 hp 6-speed in the Focus ST! You could then wake up in the morning, look at the damn thing, and not have to resort to eye bleach, every day!
There was a 3.0 V6 option later.
A friend of mine had a new one but a Tempo. Dark teal/gray interior (sporty bucket seats I remember) there was also turquoise (?) side accents and interior stripes.
The 3.0 is the place to start since the basic block is the same as the Yamaha headed version they stuck in the SHO it is almost a direct bolt in. It has been done before. http://www.tempo-topaz-performance.com/topazsho/
Wow, rarer than a gold plated Duesenberg.
I haven’t seen a Tempo in forever, a Topaz even less than that, a 2 door version of either one is nearly impossible to find and a high spec version of a 2 door one…..now thats a unicorn.
My father bought a white ’88 Tempo similar to this new. It was branded as a “GLS”, if memory serves. With the 94 horsepower engine and a 5 speed, it wasn’t too bad for the times – definitely peppier than my ’89 Mustang with a 2.3 and an automatic. His did not have cruise as does this one; otherwise, it was identical on the inside. He put about 160,000 miles on it without any trouble, other than the fan motor on the radiator came apart at about 140,000.
The automatic seat belts were the only drawback on the car. A neighbor of mine had similar belts on a Camry. She said she lost a lot of good cigarettes from it.
Lost a lot of good cigarettes from the automatic seat belt!? Oh, that makes me laugh. I didn’t know those cars had automatic belts as early as ’87. Definitely a very, very rare car. Isn’t it funny that someone would pick THAT car to preserve so carefully, but good for him.
I love it when someone loves and cares for a car like this, one that would otherwise never be seen 20 years later because they weren’t truly anything special.
Awful cars, every single one of them. I can say that because I had too many as rentals in the early 1990’s.
Although I felt the latter models were marginally better looking with the Euro-styling, they were odd cars, but someone must have liked them as I saw them all over the place, then suddenly they all seemed to disappear – like all cars do.
I wouldn’t say they were all awful! Really,…. every single one? Certainly the 5 speed manuals, I4 or V6 would have been fun. Back then weren’t ALL rental cars pretty bad? I rented a few Cavaliers and Celebritys back then…….they were crap. A specific model with options might have been OK.
Typical me…in a hurry and didn’t think enough about my post. You’re correct – the higher-performance-optioned Tempos/Topaz would have probably made me smile a bit.
So, not every single one of those twins were awful, just 90+% of them?
Nah, I’m joking. After all, in the 80’s I drove a K-Car – but – it was a 4 speed! We – wifey and me – had a ball driving that thing for 7 years!
I worked at a rental car company in the late 80’s, and we had many Tempos in the fleet. Thoroughly average cars, but the only problem area was the front wheel bearings that seemed to need replacing often. Much better reliability than the Celebrities and Dodge 600’s.
My brother had this car’s Tempo twin, which he bought new in 87. I enjoyed driving it, mainly because of the 5-speed, and the fact that it was new ( all my cars up to this point had been used beaters….).
I’ve never noticed a problem with the Escort/Tempo front wheel bearings, I’m trying to think if I’ve ever replaced a set. Did tons of Surbarus from that era though.
Speaking of Subarus the AWD/4WD Tempazes will get up and run away from a Subaru, OK not run away, but go much better in the slippery stuff. Thanks in part to Subaru making theirs AWD while the Tempaz was a true 4WD with an in and out transfer case/transmission pan (even though they incorrectly marketed the early ones as AWD) and the fact that the rear axle had a Trac-Lock diff in it. Put a good set of Ice and Snow ties and they are unstoppable.
The automatics were torture. 3 speed automatic . . . . definitely slow and once up to speed, anything above 60 mph, that 144/170/200 Ford Six minus two cylinders would just “scream” . . . . . stick was the better choice and somewhat acceptable . . . .
Rare car Ive never seen one I lived in Aussie during this period and Fords with 4bangers came from Mazda Though New Zealand got proper Ford Sierras from Europe including the mighty Cosworths.
The Donald Peterson-led years at Ford were interesting times with interesting cars. What a time capsule this Topaz is! I can’t remember the last time I saw one of these and it’s Ford Tempo cousin so it was nice to see an old friend from the Reagan years appear on these pages!
Think back to those times………Ford came out with the jellybean look with the new Taurus (which saved Ford), the Tempo and it’s Mercury siblings. Then there was the Mustang SVO with an intercooled, fuel injected and turbo charged 4 banger and that unique bi-plane spoiler. The Thunderbird Turbo Coupe was making hay in Nascar with it’s Ford Jellybean styling and selling well in the Ford showrooms throughout America. Just an interesting collection of diverse automobiles from a company that was riding high under Mr Peterson and company with design headed by Jack Telnack…….
Actually that looks more like an ’88 or ’89 judging by the dash.
My wife had two Mercuries when I met her. A 64 model that has graced these pages and one of these things. The front left wheel bearing went, the fan motor went, and the fuel pump went twice. That was in a year. We dumped it after we were married and bought a 97 Saturn SL which is much maligned on the car pages but caused us not one problem.. On the highway it was close to twice the mileage 25 compared to 45. I did not like the mercury at all.
On the other hand it did feel rock solid on the road. Right up till it broke, or so it seems.
Interesting info on the 4 wheel drive. That setup sounds like it could have been a hoot in the snow.
It is that is one of the reasons the one we have is a keeper.
Once upon a mis-spent youth my good friend was given a 4 door Topaz with a 5-speed by his mother, who had special ordered it new in 1993(ish).
The slogan “There’s nothing you can’t do in Topaz!” was born. From parking lot burn outs using junk yard tires and used oil, to off road racing (in the night) with significant air, to fear and loathing style road trips.
It drove like a truck. The throws on the 5 speed were similar to a Ranger’s and the handling at the (easy to reach limit) was a bit iffy. Fuck I miss being 17-19.
Interesting find. The girl before the girl I married had one of these. I don’t remember if it was an XR5, but it did have a spoiler on the trunk. Same colour. It met it’s end on the Alaska highway when it was less than 2 months old. For God knows what reason she decided we should attend a Nazareth concert in Fort Nelson BC ( this would be in thier declining years for sure). We drove 1500 km the day/night before, crashed for a couple of hours in the car and then saw the show.
On the way home she hit a moose at 130 km/h or so near Trutch mountain. The moose came down on the roof just behind our heads and basically crushed the roof and blew out all the rear windows. The front end of the car was totally demolished. It was 3:00 am and we were a long way from help. The ensuing trip home was an adventure, and the relationship did not survive. The pictures here triggered a laugh that is normally brought on only when I hear “Broken down angel” on XM.
Hey, everyone knows that Trutch Mtn is lousy with Moose (Meese?). Didn’t your girlfriend notice the “Moose X-ing” signs. Good thing you got rid of her.
Wow. I probably knew about the XR5 back then but had long forgotten that it ever existed. I will echo the post above – it is beyond fabulous when a guy buys a thoroughly forgettable car and loves it and cares for it for a long, long time. Given that it is a 2 door, the 5 speed, the XR5 model, the HO engine, and even the red paint – this may be the nicest Topaz in existence anywhere. I certainly hope that he enjoys it for a long time, and that someone else eventually gets it who will care for it the same way.
What a tremendous find.
A real gem. It seems to be a rule that the most mundane cars (someone may argue about the little Merc being mundane) are the ones that are cared for best and survive to become antiques. I don’t think anyone buys cars like the Topaz and plans on keeping it 25 years. It just happens that way.
I’m living proof just like the Topaz owner. I just wish my Monaco was in as good shape as the Merc. Even his seat covers are spotless. Wonderful!
Some of the most unreliable cars FoMoCo ever made. Took a date in one to a Luther Vandross concert in 87 while my VW Dasher was in the shop with a busted water pump. The tactile feel of the two cars could not have been different. Where the Dasher felt springy and feisty, the Topaz felt like a scaled down version of a Marquis – floaty but solid. I liked the interior a lot and was considering getting rid of the Dasher, which was giving me problems. When I returned the Topaz GS sedan to Sears (who was renting cars then), I asked the guy at the rental desk about buying one when they got rid of their old cars to get new ones. He said, “Son, I wouldn’t sell one of these to my worst enemies…” and went on and on about A/C, tranny and electrical problems the Topaz/Tempo suffered from. I kept my Dasher for three more years until it got wrecked in a smash-up in Imperial Beach, CA. Then I went and got a Plymouth Sundance, which is another nightmare story in itself.
We didn’t get the Tempo/Topaz here in NZ, but we did get those very wheels! They were standard fitment on up-spec versions of the Ford Laser/Mazda 323 twins. In fact the ones on the feature Topaz may have been made here too, as Ford NZ’s alloy wheel plant supplied Ford USA before it closed down.
In a strange coincidence, when the Ford alloy wheel plant closed down it was converted to offices which are now occupied by my employer, Frucor Beverages. In fact, as I’m based in those offices, my desk may be on the exact spot the very wheels on that Topaz were made! *twilight zone music plays*
Nice looking little car.
One thing I liked about these cars was that they had good acoustics, and were very quiet compared to the competition at the time.
One thing I have to point out though…there is no way that car is a 1987! That dash and front end did not debut until the 1988 model year.
I’m a little late to this article, and I don’t want to add any haterade to it, but these were not my favorite Mercs, by any stretch of the imagination.
Regardless of that, kudos to the guy who takes care of this little beasty, it’s good to see one of these preserved in such a wonderful condition. A real survivor.
I think the Tempo/ Topaz were underloved and got a bad rep. My dad bought had a ’91 Tempo that wouldn’t die. It’s great to see someone preserving one like this